tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post5565197334403125494..comments2024-03-24T12:25:13.240-07:00Comments on Every Single Paul Simon Song*: Somewhere They Can't Find MeAnother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-14987311387959593352019-11-30T18:02:24.098-08:002019-11-30T18:02:24.098-08:00Gerkuman-- "Seems to borrow" is diplomat...Gerkuman-- "Seems to borrow" is diplomatic; that IS "Anji." I suppose today we would use the word "sample" and say the song is a "remix."Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-51707427512536449722019-11-25T19:28:30.525-08:002019-11-25T19:28:30.525-08:00Paul Simon seems to borrow the introduction from h...Paul Simon seems to borrow the introduction from his version of the instrumental 'Anji'. So I guess it wasn't just the lyrics that were repurposed.Gerkumanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069488877843969529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-35527339408713650652016-06-15T18:06:33.044-07:002016-06-15T18:06:33.044-07:00Toby-- Thanks for your compliments and comments. I...Toby-- Thanks for your compliments and comments. I guess I agree, comedy is somewhat stuck in its time period while romance and drama tend to be more timeless.Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-46255550330051087912016-06-14T01:11:23.294-07:002016-06-14T01:11:23.294-07:00Just came across your blog. It's a fuascinatin...Just came across your blog. It's a fuascinating read, and great to see someone online willing to tackle the entire songbook. There's so much to be said about so many individual songs, and you certainly answered a lot of my questions. My first impression of "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" is that it sounds almost like a parody. Like watching a swinging 60's Spy caper comedy (think 1967's Casino Royale) and hearing a Batman-era Nelson Riddle-conducted go go boot-wearing hyper rendition of "Moon River" performed by The Cowsills during a speedy car chase scene. In other words, it's weird. The original song is gold, however, and likely to retain its timelessness a hundred years from now where this version is merely a timecapsule. I tend to think that of all the pop rock S&G songs. Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine, even A Simple Desultory Phillipic. The latter, in the context of Simon's original solo rendition makes much more sense. It's precisely the kind of jokey, topical, tongue-in-cheek talking blues throwaway songs folk singers loved to share with audiences. It's no wonder Simon recorded that original track live in front of a rowdy crowd in a coffee shop somewhere in London. In re-recording it later with Art, he seemed to have taken the joke further and stretched the parody to include Dylan's latest incarnation<br />("folk rock" he clarifies). It's like an SNL sketch whose single joke has gone on too long. I guess you can't fault me for liking my S&G pretty and poignant. That's also what makes it so hard to choose an album to share with newcomer to their music. There's always a track that just ruins the experience. The irony is that young people will always gravitate to the songs that sound like they could have been written a hundred years ago by some older and wiser poet (even if that poet was just a kid like Simon or Dylan in his Freewheelin' days when he sounded like a 90 year old man - my father in law who didn't know Dylan from a doorbell and didn't speak much English used to say, "I like when you play that little old man") but kids will be utterly perplexed by songs that once upon a time were meant to appeal to teenyboppers. Toby Ashiellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01202861994073473188noreply@blogger.com